Pity the poor noun. It's a simple thing, because it is a thing, or a person or a place. It can be a subject or an object, but most importantly, it just is. Chair Mountain Air Dog Cat Man Little wonder, then, that we have such a tendency to turn simple nouns into verbs -- action words, expressive words, words that are doing something. In a recent blog posting, best-selling marketing author Seth Godin wrote:   Investments are a noun. Investing is a verb. Paint is a noun. Painting is a verb. A gift is a noun. Shopping for or giving one is a verb. People care much more about verbs than nouns. They care about things that move, that are happening, that change. They care about experiences and events and the way things make us feel. Nouns just sit there, inanimate lumps. Verbs are about wants and desires and wishes.   Well, yes. But that doesn't mean that every verb is a good one. In fact, there are whole sections in grammar books and Web sites about the growing trend of verbing nouns -- like that one: Turning the noun verb into the action of verbing. Some nouns have been used as verbs for so long that we don't even think about their use as either (unless, of course, we're trying to learn English): Access Host Strike Salt Ship Lure Dress Divorce Mail Then there are the new ones we create as our language evolves, especially when we're grappling with words for new inventions and ideas: Google Taser Microwave Videotape Parent And some just don't work. You can table an agenda item, for example, but what would it mean to desk it?   The folks at EditPros.com put together a quiz with 25 of these increasingly common verbifications. (Their rulings on them are at the end of the column.)   1. The benefits office has identified several ways to INCENTIVIZE employees to reduce absences. 2. A disturbing DISCONNECT between the company's products and customers has become apparent. 3. The members excused themselves briefly from the city council meeting to CONFERENCE outside. 4. We will recycle that scrap metal, but we'll LANDFILL the old logs. 5. The new purchasing procedures ADVANTAGE larger suppliers. 6. The Peace Corps' campus representative will OFFICE in Thompson Hall. 7. The agency favors foster parent applicants who previously have PARENTED or cared for children in some capacity. 8. The attorney is WORDSMITHING a draft. 9. The agency is helping growers TRANSITION to organic crops. 10. Cooking contest rules state that chefs must SOURCE all of the ingredients within the county. 11. Sharon said she welcomes the opportunity to MENTOR children. 12. The report will BENCHMARK business processes. 13. Ellen was TASKED to analyze the competition. 14. Each entry point in the building is ALARMED after business hours to detect unauthorized intrusion. 15. The bank has begun TRIALING a new voice-recognition system for customers. 16. School administrators encourage parents to PARTNER with their child's teacher. 17. We can help the company diversify by LEVERAGING our office leasing experience. 18. We must seek ways to NORM the data with other agencies. 19. Police rerouted traffic until construction crews UPRIGHTED the fallen crane. 20. He REFERENCED a previous variance granted in 1996 that authorized 15-foot setbacks. 21. After making their presentation, the consultants DIALOGUED with interested business owners. 22. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to SUMMIT Mount Everest. 23. If you were not the instructor for the last lesson, please INTERFACE with the previous instructor before class starts. 24. She ARCHITECTED electronic commerce systems for dozens of companies. 25. The legislation will SUNSET the state Acupuncture Board.   None of this applies to sports writing, of course. Ever since I heard a broadcaster refer to a fair catch as a ball that had been fair caught, I've completely given up on that front.   VERBIFIED NOUNS Acceptability of terms can be validated by entries in the Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary or the Oxford Online Dictionary. Here are the results from all three dictionaries:   1. INCENTIVIZE: acceptable. All three dictionaries show this word as a transitive verb meaning "to provide with or offer incentives" or "to motivate." 2. DISCONNECT: questionable. It's classified only as a verb by the Oxford Online Dictionary; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage say it also can be used as a noun meaning "a disparity" or "a lack of or break in connection, consistency or agreement." 3. CONFERENCE: improper. All three dictionaries say it exists only as a noun; "confer" is the proper verb. 4. LANDFILL: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford regard "landfill" only as a noun; but American Heritage says it can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to dispose of (waste material) in a landfill" or "to fill in or reclaim (land) by this method," and as an intransitive verb meaning "to dispose of refuse or reclaim land by filling in low-lying ground." 5. ADVANTAGE: acceptable. Can be used either as a noun or as a transitive verb meaning "to benefit" or "to give an advantage to." 6. OFFICE: improper. All three dictionaries say it exists only as a noun. 7. PARENT: acceptable. It may be used as a noun or transitive verb meaning "to be or act as the parent of," according to all three dictionaries. In addition, American Heritage says it also may be used as an intransitive verb meaning "to act as a parent." 8. WORDSMITH: improper. It exists only in noun form, according to all three dictionaries. 9. TRANSITION: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford consider it only a noun, but American Heritage allows its use as an intransitive verb that means "to make a transition." 10. SOURCE: acceptable. All three dictionaries say that "source" can be a noun, adjective or a transitive verb meaning either "to specify the origin of something" or "to obtain from a source." 11. MENTOR: questionable. Oxford shows it only as a noun; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage say it also may be used as a transitive or intransitive verb that means "to serve as a trusted counselor or teacher." 12. BENCHMARK: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford say that "benchmark" may be used only as a noun, but American Heritage says it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to measure (a rival's product) according to specified standards in order to compare it with and improve one's own product." 13. TASK: acceptable. All three dictionaries say that "task" can be a noun or a transitive verb meaning either "to assign a task to" or "to overburden with labor" (as in "tasks his mind with petty details"). 14. ALARM: questionable. While "alarm" can be a noun or transitive verb that means "to frighten" or "to warn," it cannot be used to mean "to equip with an alarm," according to Merriam-Webster and American Heritage. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary disagrees, however, saying that such use is acceptable. 15. TRIAL: questionable. Merriam-Webster and American Heritage show "trial" only as a noun or adjective. Oxford, however, says it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to test (something) to assess its suitability or performance." 16. PARTNER: acceptable. All three dictionaries approve of "partner" as a noun, a transitive verb meaning "to join or associate with another as partner" or "to provide with a partner," and an intransitive verb meaning "to perform as a partner." 17. LEVERAGE: questionable. Oxford lists it only as a noun; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage also show it as a transitive verb meaning "to provide (a company, for example) with leverage; to supplement (money, for example) with leverage; or to improve or enhance." 18. NORM: improper. This word has only a noun form, according to all three dictionaries. 19. UPRIGHT: questionable. It may be used only as an adjective, adverb or noun, according to Merriam-Webster and Oxford, but American Heritage says it also can function as a transitive verb meaning "to restore to an upright position." 20. REFERENCE: acceptable. All three dictionaries approve of "reference" as a noun, adjective or transitive verb meaning "to supply with references" or "to cite as a reference." 21. DIALOGUE: questionable. Merriam-Webster regards it only as a noun; but American Heritage and Oxford say it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to express as or in a dialogue" or as an intransitive verb meaning "to converse in a dialogue." 22. SUMMIT: questionable. Oxford considers it only a noun, but Merriam-Webster says it also can be used as an intransitive verb meaning "to participate in a summit conference." American Heritage says it additionally can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to climb to the summit of (a mountain)." 23. INTERFACE: acceptable. All three dictionaries say it can be a noun or a verb with transitive senses meaning "to connect by means of an interface" (as in "interface a lathe and a computer") or "to serve as an interface for," or intransitive senses meaning "to interact or coordinate smoothly." 24. ARCHITECT: questionable. Merriam-Webster and American Heritage classify "architect" only as a noun; however, Oxford says it also can be used as a verb in a computing context meaning "to design and make (a program or system)." 25. SUNSET: improper. All three dictionaries say it may be used only as a noun or adjective. Pity the poor noun. It's a simple thing, because it is a thing, or a person or a place. It can be a subject or an object, but most importantly, it just is. Chair Mountain Air Dog Cat Man Little wonder, then, that we have such a tendency to turn simple nou Valley Life, LOCAL

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by Sarah Jenkins

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Verbing nouns? Is nouning verbs next? 9689 verbing-nouns-is-nouning-verbs-next Web Story

Yakima Herald-Republic

2008-11-30T18:16:11Z

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Verbing nouns? Is nouning verbs next? published Web Daily

2008-12-02T23:12:43Z